Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vance
While Claire changed, I set out food and poured us each a generous shot of scotch. I had no doubt that she needed it.
What the hell had happened in Sheriff McGrath’s office?
He was pissed that we had confronted him.
When he’d told Claire to stay behind so he could speak to her privately, I’d expected him to chew her out.
But Claire was strong—wicked strong. She would have handled that and probably walked out rolling her eyes about the whole thing.
Instead, she’d walked out and almost collapsed in the hallway.
It had terrified me.
Whatever had happened had shaken her to the core. I needed to find out what it was for the sake of the case.
I wanted to find out so that I knew exactly how to make Sheriff McGrath regret ever putting that look on her face.
When she emerged from my bedroom in faded skinny jeans and a long teal sweater, pulling her gorgeous hair out of the bun she kept it in for work, I was struck with relief that the color had finally come back into her face.
The relief was joined by a surprising truth: I was crazy about Claire Hawkins.
The realization made me drop the fork I was holding.
Claire didn’t seem to notice. “What are we eating?” she asked, sniffing the air.
“Chinese takeout,” I said, recovering. “I didn’t know what you like, so I got an assortment of things and figured we could eat family style.”
“Yum. Does Chinese food go with scotch?” She plucked an eggroll out of a box and bit off the end of it before sitting cross-legged in the chair at the head of the table.
I shrugged. “Who cares?”
She gave me that twisted smile that let me know a playful jab was coming. “I figured growing up all fancy in Seal Harbor meant that you know all the right pairings.”
“Oh, I do,” I said, grinning. “But in my opinion, scotch goes with everything.”
“I guess we both agree on that,” she said, holding her glass up in a mock cheer before taking a sip. “Whoa.” The look on her face was pure pleasure as she held the scotch in her mouth. She closed her eyes and swallowed it slowly, savoring it like she’d never tasted anything so magnificent.
I dropped my fork again.
Those green eyes popped open and narrowed at me. “You’re awfully clumsy today.”
“Must be hungry,” I muttered. I reached for the Mongolian beef and started plating it.
She leaned forward and grabbed the container of sesame chicken, then spooned out a heap of it onto her plate. “I owe you an explanation,” she said quietly, the teasing gone from her voice.
“You don’t owe me anything. But if you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears.
It wrecked me.
“Talk to me,” I coaxed. “What’s going on?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m scared to tell you. Partly because I don’t want it to be true. Because I don’t want to face it. And partly because I don’t want to get him in trouble if I’m wrong, if I … misunderstood.” She dropped her gaze, her cheeks flushing with shame. “I do that sometimes.”
Rage bloomed in my chest. “Did he hurt you?”
If he’d hurt Claire, taking his badge wouldn’t be enough.
“No.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Not like that, anyway.”
“Then how?” I was quiet for a moment.
She opened her eyes and gave me an unreadable look.
“It’s hard for me to trust my gut. Cheyenne has intuition that’s always dead-on.
It’s amazing. But I’ve always felt like mine got wired wrong.
I jump headfirst into too many situations that turn out to be bad ideas.
I think taking the job as a deputy was probably one of those things. ”
I gave her a look of empathy but stayed quiet, giving her room to speak.
“Sheriff McGrath said he saw something in me. That I would be good at this job.” She put her elbows on the table, hiding her face in her hands. “God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“Why? Claire, you are good at this job. You’re inexperienced, yes. But you have natural instincts. You’re smart. You’re brave.” I stopped myself before giving the entire list of reasons why I thought she was one of the most amazing people I’d ever met in my life.
We’d have that conversation later.
“Thank you,” she said, removing her hands and giving me a small smile. “But I don’t think that’s why he gave me the job.”
“What are you saying?” My mind was going a million places, and none of them were good.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath. “Today, when he kicked you out of his office, Sheriff McGrath wanted to check up on the investigation. Which is normal, right?”
“Sure.” I nodded. “It’s still his town. He has the right to be kept in the loop. Although, personally, I think we should keep the details to ourselves until we know he’s telling the entire truth about his involvement with Katelyn.”
“Agreed. I didn’t give him any additional information.”
“See? Smart.” I grinned.
“Thanks. But the conversation felt weird.” She looked more uncertain than I’d ever seen her.
“Weird how?”
She shook her head. “His facial expressions. This is where I wish I had Cheyenne’s intuition, to know if I can trust my gut or if I was reading too much into it. But when he asked about the case, something about his face made me think he had an ulterior motive.”
I frowned. “I think you should trust your gut.”
Gratitude flashed in her eyes. “Then he told me that he gave me this case for two reasons. One, because I needed it to earn some credibility.”
“He’s not wrong,” I pointed out. “It’s unfair, but I’m sure he’s observed how you get treated by Collins and Mayor Evans. That’s never good for a department.”
“Yeah. And not just them. Judge Barrington is almost as bad, and half the men in town just roll their eyes at me when I’m in uniform.
But the second thing…” She drew in another deep breath, then spit the words like she needed to get them out before she changed her mind.
“He basically said he gave it to me because I understand that things aren’t always black and white. ”
“What do you mean?”
“Sheriff McGrath knows I get frustrated by arbitrary rules.” She shrugged. “We’ve argued about it in the past. I prefer taking individual circumstances into account versus going strictly by the book. He said he wanted me to remember that in this case.”
My eyes narrowed. “We’re talking about murder, Claire. What individual circumstances could matter when it comes to that?”
“Exactly.” She gestured in agreement. “When I say I don’t always go by the book, I’m talking things like leash laws or restrictions on how many pets you can own. Minor stuff like that, stuff that doesn’t hurt anybody. Gray-zone areas.”
I took the opportunity to tease her, knowing it would ease more of that heaviness that had settled on her. “Says the woman who gave the mayor a parking ticket. You certainly thought that was black and white.”
Her lips twitched. “Well, individual circumstances dictate that he always deserves a ticket if I catch him breaking a rule.” She winked and dug into the food on her plate.
I felt my shoulders loosen. Her fire was coming back and I was more relieved than I could say.
“Fair enough.” I chuckled. “But back to Sheriff McGrath. You’re saying he picked you for a homicide investigation because you don’t always play by the book?”
Her face fell again. “He also said I need to remember who the good guys are. That anyone who wants to protect our way of life in Wildwood is a good guy. That sometimes good guys make mistakes, but that doesn’t make them bad people…
And that this is a chance for me to prove that I’m here to protect the ‘good guys’ in Wildwood. ”
I blinked twice and took a deep breath. “That … does not sound good.”
“He also said that sometimes cases go cold and that nobody will hold it against me if this one does, too.”
“Shit.” I put my fork down, having lost my appetite.
“Right?” She leaned her head back, looking at the ceiling.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I walked out of there wondering if Sheriff McGrath really was Katelyn Brown’s new boyfriend and if he’s hoping I’ll cover for him.
If maybe the real reason he recruited me for this job was because he’s corrupt and he wanted someone weak that he could manipulate. ”
I blew out a breath. “Well, if that’s true, then he made a big mistake there.”
“Did he?” She looked at me, her expression clouded with doubt and shame.
I looked her straight in the eye. “There is nothing weak about you. I’ve known it since the moment we met.”
“I was weak today,” she admitted, that look of shame flushing her face again. “One conversation and I fell apart. Clung to you like some helpless damsel in distress. Couldn’t even face my family.”
I shook my head. “Don’t you dare think you’re weak for that. It wasn’t ‘one conversation.’ It was finding out that someone you trust, respect, and put your faith in isn’t who he said he was. I’ve been there. That’s enough to shake the strongest person alive.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For understanding.”
She tentatively stretched her fingers across the table, touching mine. I flipped my hand over, taking hers inside my palm, and stroked my thumb over her wrist.
She didn’t pull away. And I didn’t let go.
I stared at her hand in mine before looking up to meet her eyes. Eyes that made me want to get lost in their emerald depths. Eyes that made me want to throw away the rulebook and explore the vast, swirling ocean that was her.
We were crossing lines, holding hands like this.
I couldn’t find it in me to care.
“I like you, Claire Hawkins.” I let the words out before I had time to overthink them.
Her lips twisted into the teasing smile that had become so familiar. “Too bad I can’t stand you.”
The look in her eyes was playful.
But I wasn’t interested in playing games.
“We both know you’re lying right now.” I kept stroking my thumb along the inside of her wrist.
“Am I?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“I know your tells. Plus, I can feel your pulse skyrocketing.” I smirked. “You like me more than you want to admit.”
She jerked her hand away and grabbed the scotch, taking a swig straight from the bottle. “I think you like me more than you want to admit.”
I leaned forward until my face was close to hers, lowering my voice to a dark whisper. “I just admitted it, didn’t I? I like you, Claire. I like you so much I don’t know what to do about it.”
The sassy smirk disappeared when she realized I wasn’t joking. Her lips parted slightly. Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. She leaned closer. So close that her lips were just a breath away.
“You’re the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met,” I whispered, bringing my thumb to her cheek, stroking it down her jawline until it hovered right beside those lips I was dying to taste.
“Should we be doing this?” she asked, her own voice a whisper matching mine.
“Probably not.” I dropped my hand and swallowed hard, telling myself to pull back.
But she moved in and brushed those lips against mine.
One taste and the spark between us ignited into flame. Any hesitation she’d had vanished as she practically climbed into my lap, taking control of the kiss. She nipped my bottom lip, then let out a little moan that almost undid me.
I matched her intensity, using my tongue and my teeth to tease. To claim.
I tangled my fingers in her golden curls, swept up in her scent. Pineapples and coconuts, like she really was a mermaid who belonged in the warm ocean waters that mirrored the ones in her eyes.
A mermaid that tempted me to abandon everything I’d worked to build just so I could swim in those depths with her.